or the formula. but you change the -- the can itself, people get confused. secondly, if you're grabbing it, it does look confusing. coke is red, diet coke is not red. when you mess it up like that, i get it. snow is white. but when you mess it up -- briefly, yes, it is easy for people to screw it up. >> have no fear, you are getting your red cans back. peter shankman, thanks so much. hour two, we're rolling on. take a look at this. top of the hour, i'm brooke baldwin. here is what we're watching. first, big news. the november's jobs report. hiring number is up and unemployment is down. also, looking for ways to pay for the payroll tax cut. a huge turnout in the first egyptian election since hosni mubarak was ousted and troops are returning from iraq today. time to play reporter roulette. alison kosik, let's go to you to

the new york stock exchange. the unemployment dropping below the 9% to 8.6 mark. how is the stock market taking it? >> it's taking a breather at this point. the rally has fizzled out because investors had a look at the report. they got a look at what is just behind the headlines. what it showed is that 120,000 jobs were added in november with september and october numbers revised higher by a total of 72,000. sure, the pickup in hiring. it's a good sign. but it's still not great. the country is barely creating enough jobs to keep up with population growth and 13 million people are still out of work. the reality reason is why it's fizzled out. they have done enough buying for the week. the dow is up almost 800 points just for the week, brooke. >> wow. that's tremendous.

but also some people are saying that the numbers aren't as tremendous and i want to ask you a question. i want to pose this to one of the presidents of the south economic advisor. is it a bit of an beabboration? >> you're talking about the unemployment rate. it's part of the seasonality that you're referring to. most americans found retail work because most places are hiring for the holiday season. but most of those jobs are going to go away and then you could see the unemployment rate tick up again. from the headline it looks great. but look behind the number. a key reason that if fell so much, brooke, is because so many people stopped looking for work. 315,000 people are not counted as unemployed. it's one of the big reasons that you started to see the numbers fall. >> alison kosik, thank you so

much, from new york. your wallet is on the line with congress extending the payroll tax cut and how to pay for it. let's go to kate bolduan. >> reporter: last night they voted. neither proposal was neither expected to pass. people are seeing it as an opening offer from either side. why did they not pass? because in both proposals, democrats and republicans, proposed paying for -- extending this payroll tax and the man on the other side could not support. democrats wanted to pay for their extension of the payroll tax cut by putting a surtax on income over $1 million. republicans wanted to extend a federal pay freeze on federal employees as well as reducing the federal workforce by 10% over time. neither side was going to

support the other's proposal, brooke. but an interesting development, a very surprising development from last night is the republican proposal did not win a majority support among republicans themselves, which is getting quite a bit of attention. republican aides are stressing that that was not the final officer, the final propose saal. but it's real division among the republicans. not only how to pay for it but really whether to extend the payroll tax cut at all is what we're hearing from republicans because they don't think that the payroll tax cut has helped stimulate the economy while taking away from social security and they see a real political opening there and they are hammering republicans from the president on down and they are not supporting a payroll tax extension which would largely help middle-class americans,

brooke. >> kate, keep us posted. thanks. next to this on "reporter roulette," jim changlancy is lin cairo, egyptian. the election commission made a very lengthy statement today. we know that 62% of eligible voters cast their votes but still do we know who won? >> reporter: well, we don't have a list but we know that there's no doubt about it, the islamist party is making an unusually strong showing. they are expected to get between 60 and 70% of the total vote. we don't have that total vote yet. the election officials indicated that they are going to post that on the website. they have been working nonstop for 100 hours trying to get the ballots counted. they are going to post it on the website and let everybody read it there. there's too many papers to let

them get through it. the election was pulled off and pulled off peacefully. this is what egyptians have been fearing the most. now that they see people have turned out with these kinds of numbers, 8.5 million, or 62% of the eligible voters in this round of the collection went out and cast their ballots. they are calling that as a success. it's the best turnout since the farrows. >> i'm interested in how this is being for activists days upon days in tahrir square, how are they receiving the news that an isl islamist group will be in charge of the parliament? >> reporter: well, i spoke with a tour guide who came all the way back to cairo to cast his

ballot and he was feeling shocked, really, that one of the hard line islamic candidates with a more radical group, someone who would boycott the election is actually going to be a member of this new parliament. people have not forgotten the sacrifice that has been made in order to get this car. look at the wall over here next to me you can see the mural. you can see the faces of people who have lost their lives. remember, this is in the past days or so, more than 40 people have lost their lives. in all, it depends on how main you talk to. 900 according to statistics, 1200 if you listen to what the activists themselves are saying. people in egypt, though, tonight are proud of what they have accomplished.

brooke? >> jim clancy live in cairo. thank you. finally, let's go to san mateo, california. we have dan simon standing by for one of these tremendous moments where you have this group, california national guard finally coming home. i imagine it was quite emotional. >> reporter: it's incredibly emotional as these marines always are. we're in san mateo outside of a national guard armory. given the fact that this was the last california national guard to leave iraq. these men and women were there for nine months. it's a medical company. you're talking about doctors and nurses and x-ray technicians and i want you to listen to a mother who just reunited with her son. >> this is a the best blessing in my life. very proud to be the mother of a

soldier and i'm very proud and very blessed i remember his dad always, though he's gone, he would be very proud of his son. i missed him so much, every day, sleeping and thinking about him, praying that he come back home safe. i have two boys. and almost my younger son joined the military, too. i don't know. but i would consider this the best day of my life. being a single mom and a very, very proud of my son. welcome back home, son. i love you. >> wow. >> reporter: well, this unit deployed in february and christmas coming a little early for them, brooke. they were supposed to come home in a couple of months but when president obama set a withdrawal

date, they were able to come back home three months early. >> the best day of a single mom's life. i got goose bumps. staying on the west coast, parts of the west coast looks like they have been hit by a hurricane but this is the santa ana winds. also, i know you remember these images and the screams. this is when the stage collapsed before sugarland went on the stage. today we are now hearing the people who called 911. we're going to play that tape for you. also, what would snake charmers hope to accomplish by releasing dozens of snakes? yikes. and more than a million cars are being recalled because of air bags that can kill. we're going to tell you what they are, next. frs [ alarm rings ]

[ male announcer ] take the fixodent 12 hour hold challenge. fixodent denture adhesive challenges you to a 12 hour hold test. ♪ thanks to its time released formula, you apply fixodent once, and it holds all day. ♪ take the fixodent 12 hour hold challenge. guaranteed, or your money back. ♪ and for guaranteed freshness try fixodent cleanser, plus scope ingredients. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above and still pay the mid-size price. here we are... [ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro.

so my old contact lenses would sometimes move out of place and blur my vision. my eye doctor said there's great news for people with astigmatism. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink and created with hydraclear® plus. i'm seeing more clearly, crisply, comfortably, all day long. now life doesn't have to be a blur. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. [ male announcer ] shopping for medicare coverage? the annual enrollment period ends december 7th. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. now is the time to take action. call unitedhealthcare medicare solutions today.

if it's interesting, it's happening right now. rapid fire, let's go with this. the sheriff's office just solved part of this mystery involving the body of a woman and two very distinct tattoos. this woman's body was found wednesday alongside i-95 in south georgia. the autopsy results indicate that it was a homicide. and the only clues to this woman's identity is a partial fingerprint and a tattoo and a butterfly with the word "babycakes." the deputies identified who this is but they have to notify her relatives first. we want to take you to indiana now where a horrible accident happened at the state

fair. who could forget this, the images of the stage completely collapsing in the middle of the storm. now today we're getting a terrifying view from the perspective of the first responders. there is radio traffic that was compiled from that night. take a listen to this. the situation is this. the stage framework and the speakers have collapsed on to the rows in front. >> can you estimate the total quantity of patients? >> a lot. >> do you think i need to start more than five units? >> absolutely. >> seven people died as a result of that collapse. four children had to be air lifted to a hospital after a school bus collided with a truck. the bus was carrying about 20 students, some of whom were elementary and others high school age. the bus driver was shaken up but caring for the children when help arrived. and heads up if you drive a

honda or an acura made between the years of 2001 and 2003, you're going to want to take it back to a dealership because there's a recall involving the air bags. they need to be defective for destructive air bag parts. at least two deaths have been caused by faulty air bags. and florida police arrested 29 protesters who refused to leave this park. after ward police issued warnings and moved right into this riverfront park. this is the largest member of occupy protesters arrested at one single time in tampa since the movement began three months ago. country singer mindy mccready is getting a lot of attention but not for the reasons she would probably hope for. she is accused of stealing her son and the judge has ordered

her to return him to her mother. we're going to talk to her counselor from her stint on "celebrity rehab." hispanic comin that's coming up. and chad myers is all over the destruction in los angeles. that's next. [ male announcer ] sorry, buddy. truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. really? [ male announcer ] you need a more complete cold formula, like alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. it's specially formulated to fight your worst cold symptoms, plus relieve your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪

so we have to keep talking about these santa ana winds for a second straight day. these powerful winds hammered southern california, also utah, arizona with gusts of winds in some places up to 140 miles an hour. folks, that is stronger than some hurricane forces. winds are smashing cars and

knocking down power lines. chad myers, you and i have been talking about this for the last couple of days. tell me if the winds are dying down. >> today they are. 20 to 30. and mainly in the mountains. malibu on up towards mountain top, up the ridges up there, you'll see winds at 30. down in the valley, maybe 10 to 15. top the winds come back. on sunday they come back to 60 miles per hour. that's not 100 but some of these trees are waiting to fall down. another wind day will bring these trees down. >> what can you really do? >> get out a chainsaw and try to trim. trim things already broken. if your frens is all the way down, get it all the way down or strengthen it. there's a star there. 150 miles per hour. that's the top of the scale. that's like a 200 mile per car with a gauge that goes to 150.

the gauge doesn't go any farther. at mammoth, 140 miles per hour. the higher elevations into vegas, a little bit of blowing dust. critical fire danger. the l.a. fire department has had a couple of fires. by saturday, another low pressure and more winds at 60 miles per hour on sunday morning. prepare for it because it's the last it of. we're done for now. but a couple days have been brutal. >> 85,000 customers without power? >> 85,000 customers. >> chad, thank you very much. still to come here, we're talking herman cain. he should be home in atlanta in just about an hour from now. and when he gets home, le have

to have a chat with his wife, gloria, of 43 years and will have to decide if he will stick with this race for president. also, ginger white alleging a 13-year affair with him. he denied that but says he has known her and did give her money. we're live outside of his home. that is next. le announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold... medicine. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. ♪ real, objective investing help? that's a little harder to find. but here's what i know --

td ameritrade doesn't manage mutual funds... or underwrite stocks and bonds. or even publish their own research. so, guidance from td ameritrade isn't about their priorities. it's about mine. straightforward guidance. that's what makes td ameritrade different. ♪ [ male announcer ] trade commission-free for 60 days. plus get up to $600 when you open an account.

here are a couple of verbs you have heard lately. assess and verify. these are some words that her main can has been using. he is on his way home to have a heart to heart conversation with his wife. standing by near the cain neighborhood is shannon.

any sign of mrs. cain? >> reporter: i'm on my way there now, brooke, but our crew is there and they don't see any sign of her. it's about a 30-minute or so drive outside of atlanta. we know that this is the first time that he will see his wife since the allegations of the alleged affair. we also know that his wife did not know about this friendship. we also know, though, that gloria cain has stood by her husband earlier in this week when she first learned of this latest claim of dealings with the come man that his wife said,

here we go again. we're stranding by. hopefully we will speak with him. it will definitely be a private moment. will the family be there? will it be a painful moment given all of these things? we're standing by to see what we can get. >> i have a transcript of what herman cain said at a town hall. tomorrow in atlanta, i will be making an announcement. tomorrow we're going to be oeching our headquarters in northwest georgia where we also want to clarify -- there is that word clarify, exactly what the next steps are. can we read anything more into that, shannon travis? >> i don't know that we can. one has to wonder whether he made the decision before he actually met with his wife. one would think that obviously

his number one supporter, what she has to say about the situation whether she goes forward or what have you, that will play into what happens with mr. cain again and will be a very private moment for this couple. but now that we know that he will be making some sort of an announcement tomorrow, he will be -- that decision will obviously be informed based on what happens with his family this evening. >> shannon travis en route to the cain neighborhood in atlanta. shannon, thank you. so if you were trying to protest corruption, what would you do? release snakes in a public place? yep, that happened and we have the video. plus, november's unemployment report came out. there are solid numbers. we'll speak with the head of the economic advisers. we'll hear what he says about the economy and i'm going to ask him why so many people have

give given up, given up looking for jobs. that's coming up next.

each and every week at this time we like to profile someone who's accomplished something fairly remarkable, despite having to come over an okay stack kell. dr. sanjay gupta introduces us to a man who did not let his disability get in the way of his love for running marathons. >> reporter: at age 62, he discovered a new passion.

marathons. eight years ago, just days after running his first 26-mile race, though, he got some devastating news. >> i had gone to the doctor a couple of times for pain in my back. it was multiple myeloma. >> this is a cancer of the blood, where the white blood cells invade the bone marrow, usually in the backs or the ribs and patients are rarely cured. he even qualified for the boston marathon. >> i got this devastating diagnosis and we just -- my family and i, we just kept ongoing. you know, there wasn't any reason to stop and be sorry, you know. we kept running marathons. >> incredibly, wright, who is now 70, has run 60 marathons in 41 states. his wife and daughter have been by his side for most of them. his goal is to run a marathon in every state. >> finally after boston we

decided to pick off states. never imagining -- well, imagining, yes. but never expecting to be able to finish all 50. now i'm really hoping for it. >> never expected that he could fulfill his dream because the median survival for his cancer is just five years. he's had a number of treatments that have failed. but for the last three years, wright's taken an experimental drug. it's just one pill at night and it's kept the cancer at bay. >> and it doesn't cure the cancer but it keeps it stable. so it's not hurting me. and i can still run. and i can still enjoy life and i'm riding that for all it's worth. >> reporter: he has advice to others for what seems like insurmountable odds. take charge of your own destiny and never give up hope. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn. progresso. it fits! fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit!

okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less.

as we said through the show here, encouraging news on the job front. the nation's unemployment rate took a big dip today. there you go.

the rate was 9% on the button as of today. it's down to 8.6%. this is according to figures released this morning by the labor department. the government says in november employers added some 120,000 new jobs and let's go to the white house, shall we, to allen krueger. i hear there is construction news where you are. let's roll through it. at least you have some construction jobs there. let's talk about these 120,000 new jobs. where do these come from? >> well, we've seen job growth in retail trade last month in the health care sector and if you take a step back and look more broadly, it's not fast enough growth. we certainly have headwinds. construction is one of them. the work being done around here

notwithstanding, especially residential construction. so it's been a trend in which we've seen private sector growth for 21 months now, although we would still like to see much faster growth in order to put people back to work. >> so you have the growth and you have this jobs creation but how much of it -- i mean, the seasonality has to be a discussion. these are jobs that, as we know, they are going to go away in a couple of weeks. >> reporter: well, first of all, you should never make too much out of one month's numbers. that's why i try to look back at what has happened. the numbers are seasonally adjusted. what the bureau of labor statics tries to do is take the effect or downturns each month removed

and it was seasonally adjusted. >> but you acknowledge that some of these numbers will be affected by cease nan job creation? >> well, it's certainly the case that in november, december, you get a lot of retail hiring for seasonal reasons for holiday shopping. but as i said, those effects, in principle, are removed from the data that the bureau of labor statics produced. >> i know that you are aware, that even though the jobless rate dropped, growth was stronger as 2011 began. we have this chart. we still have some 13.3 million unemployed. if we look at november, you have that 120,000 new jobs. but far more people dropped out of the labor force, just gave up looking entirely. see the number. it's a large number. 315,000 people. alan, that's a grim number as well. >> well, we certainly, i think, need to do more to strengthen job growth. you need to be careful with the data not to mix the two different surveys.

but holding that aside, we'd like to see faster job growth. that's why the president proposed the american jobs act. in particular, he extended the payroll tax cut. if congress does not extend the payroll tax cut, then the typical american family that earns around $50,000 a year would see a $1,000 in january and i think it's very important that congress act and expand the payroll tax cut and also extend it to small employers as well, which the president proposed. >> we heard the president speaking about those two things yesterday. he was out with a number of people, including former president bill clinton. here's a video as they hopped into a limo together. they made an appearance at the green energy event. let's just listen for a moment. someone asked former president bill clinton what advice he might have for president obama. >> any advice for president

obama about the economy? >> he gives me advice all the time. >> he gives me advice all the time. your boss says. so the president says, he hears from bill clinton all the time. does he get tired of suggest people suggesting that he needs to listen to bill clinton in regards to the economy? >> no. i've always heard the president eager to hear about advice about what we can do about the economy. he wants to explore every type of sensible economic policy that we can pursue. i know in my meetings with the president he's always been open to advice about what we can do to try to strengthen the economy. so i suspect he was eager to hear what advice he would get. >> here is hoping that 8.6% number stays where it is and continues to fall.

alan krueger at the white house, thank you very much. and country singer mindy mccready is begging for her grandson to be returned. wait until you hear why mindy says she can't return him. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. [ male announcer ] it has an hd webcam, killer audio, and lids that switch to start every semester fresh. but mostly it helps me try new moves on and off the court. ♪ [ male announcer ] featuring windows 7 and windows 7 live messenger. get this loaded inspiron 15r at dell.com or visit one of our retail partners today. selling fishcakes from the back of his truck, and in 1942, of course, they were sent away.

after the war, as a japanese coming back from camp, he started a little store on main street in seattle. of course they needed some money, and bank of america was the only bank who would talk to my father. and we've stayed with bank of america. we have four stores now, three in the pacific northwest and one in oregon. my parents would not believe how popular it is now. at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, man: good job. where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us,

it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life. so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. looks really good. call us at... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? nyqui tylenol: me, too. and cougnasal congestion.ers? nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. on the case today, the courtroom is packed for the life of the convicted home invader and murderer.

joshua komisarjevsky has been convicted and prosecutors are asking the jury to sentence komisarjevsky to death. i want to bring in a former prosecutor. mark, nice to see you. i want to set this up. prosecutors, they are not at all minutesing words to describe the evidence in this case. they are calling it, and i quote, shockingly brutal, vicious, and call komisarjevsky a predator who stalked jennifer hawke-petit and one of her daughters. did they hammer home how horrific this crime was? >> they do. they are doing a phenomenal job in this trial and the prior trial. they have a good chance of getting the death penalty in this one. >> komisarjevsky's lawyer says he grew up in a house of secrets during his closing arguments he pointed a finger over at the

mother of komisarjevsky, said she didn't give -- get enough help for her son even though she knew he had problems. the defense is hammering home this list. and josh is a human being, albeit, severely damaged, whose life has value. >> sure. >> can his lawyer convince the jury that this was not komisarjevsky's fault? >> what they are going to find are mitigate fors and find out the reason why to give life without parole are more significant than the reasons why you should kill him. also on the list, that he grew up in a strict, conservative home. yeah, so what. >> do you think the jury will agree with you? do you think the jury will

decide death for this man? >> i do. he's got mitigate fors. apparently that he needed, the ex factor in this case is dr. petit himself. what a horrible tragedy he had to go through, losing his family. and they are going to have to look him in the eye and say, look, we're sorry about your loss but we're not going to give you what you want, the ultimate sanks for this defendant. >> it's horrible indeed. case number two, country music singer mindy mccready is making headlines. her mother has custody of her 5-year-old son. she took off with her son during visitation and a judge ordered her to bring him home thursday night and she said, no, i'm not going to do it. does this move into parental abduction? >> i think it has. a judge has already issued a warrant for her arrest, ordering her to bring it back.

i'm pregnant with twins, that's why i cannot return. well, you just took the child. you were able to fly in. also, i'm not judge mental of her. four arrests, three suicide attempts, one sex tape, one alleged -- what would be called an affair with rogers clemens and a history of drug abuse. i wouldn't necessarily believe anything that fell from her lips. >> we're going to keep talking about this story. we're going to talk to her counselor when she was on "celebrity rehab" and ask him what she said the last time she spoke with him. and it's not snakes on a plane, it's snablg snakes in a tax office. why? those images next.

time now for the help desk. joining us is jack and dorn na thank you both for being here. they are in their late 40s and have $50,000 in credit card debt. they want to know, should they take money out of their 401(k)s and then reinvest into a new 401(k)? >> it sounds tempting but you should never take money out of there to pay off debt. the amount that you can with draw is limited. but should they cash all of the money out, they are going to pay a 10% penalty and if they are in the 25% tax bracket, that's 35% tax that they are going to pay. they are surely not paying that

much on their tax credit cards. you can stop the transition to the 401(k). that's a smarter option. >> yeah, absolutely. your question comes from chris in minneapolis. chris says i have so much debt and my son doesn't want his debt to hurt the ability to take out loans for his school. >> a couple of aspects to this. first of all, you will hurt your credit rating with a settlement. so that's a problem. what is not a problem is if you have a government subsidized loan, they don't look at your credit rating. the bigger issue is if he is so maxed out on debt that he can't get a credit card, be california about borrowing more money for school. definitely stick with the government subsidized loans. if they borrowed $24,000 for

college, that would be about $276 a month to pay for a stafford loan. think about strategies, like go to a community for the first two and then transfer to a university. >> and cut where you can because education is so key. >> exactly. >> folks, if you have a question that you want answered, send an e-mail to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally.

ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. turn to senokot-s tablets. senokot-s has a natural vegetable laxative ingredient plus the comfort of a stool softener for gentle, overnight relief of occasional constipation. go to senokot-s.com for savings. one of those stories where i can't look at the video. probably my biggest fear. snakes. thanks, guys, that is awesome of you. so, takes on the loose. why?

apparently, these snakes were set free, but not just one. two snake charmers. this happened inside of a tax office in india. reports are these charmers released the snakes to protest corrupt officials who they claim asked for a bribe. i'm leaving this. no one was injured. no more snakes, please. let's go to wolf blitzer. we're going to talk to wolf about what he's watching. >> you have a snake. no frogs -- did you see our frog? very cute. such a nice frog. i got to tell you. i haven't met many frogs, but he's an excellent frog. no frogs today, but we have ron paul, the republican presidential candidate. he'll be live in the coming hour. he's got a lot of shorters out there. they're been tweeting me. we have got good questions for ron paul. he's going to be live next hour

and in the 5:00 p.m. eastern hour, jean sperling will be joining me. a good two hours in "the situation room." coming up. >> followed by previews in two hours in the news room. >> did a great job. have a wonderful weekend. >> we'll be watching. meantime before i let you go, authorities are looking for mindy mccready. she is accused of stealing her on son. we're going to talk to her counselor from celebrity rehab, but first, it's friday. we brought it back. this is when i tweet out you can ask me questions. i answered a couple of them and this is a special today as one of our lead writers joined twitter. roll it, roger.

>> come over here. i have to whisper because he sits across from me. i lead fun, wonderful writer is now on twitter. >> did you just call me a curmudgeon. >> i so did. today, he is on twitter because -- >> i felt like doing something new. trying to do something new every day. this is today's. like a member of some generation? >> yes, you are. welcome to our generation. if you've just signed up for medicare or will soon,

there's no time like the present to consider all your health insurance options. does medicare alone meet your needs? would additional coverage be better for you? well, now is a good time to take a look at an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. get started by calling for your free information kit and guide to medicare. as you probably know, medicare only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. a medicare supplement insurance plan helps cover some of it. that could save you up to thousands of dollars a year in out-of-pocket costs. and you can visit any doctor who accepts medicare patients. with medicare supplement insurance, you'll find a range of plans to choose from to fit your needs and budget. there are no networks. no referrals to see a specialist.

and you could get a pretty good idea what your out-of-pocket costs will be every month. plus, these plans travel with you anywhere in the u.s. don't let this time go by without considering if an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan is right for you. it's as easy as a phone call. rates are competitive. and these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans exclusively endorsed by aarp. remember, medicare doesn't cover everything. medicare supplement insurance plans help pay for some of the rest. you could save up to thousands of dollars a year in out-of-pocket costs. and you can choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan could be an option to get the coverage you need at a competitive rate. so don't wait another minute. be sure to call today. call now for your free medicare guide and information kit about aarp medicare supplement insurance plans,

insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. country singer, mindy mccready, she takes off with her 5-year-old son and refuses to return him. so now there's emergency order that lets law enforcement take the boy if they find him. the sex tapes, suicide attempts, arrests and court dates in addition to a history of drug and alcohol abuse. there are a lot of layers to this story. we're going to start to peel one back with a man who counseled mccready when she checked into celebrity rehab. >> i was in a relationship with a guy for about three and a half years. it just beat the hell out of me and i was addicted to the relationship and you know --

>> that's the reason why you're here? really? >> that's right. >> bob forest, he spent more than a decade into the recovery field and he's a member of the treatment team on celebrity rehab with dr. drew in the spinoff "sober house." so, bob, we're thrilled to have you. let's start with mindy mccready. how long have you known her? >> well, i just dealt with her on the joe and it's strange that you know one of your producers asked me, what was the last con ver sags you had with her? to not go back to florida and live in her mom's house that was discharging from our treatment and now, it's two years later and here we are in this mess. >> when you counseled her in that stint on celebrity rehab, some two years ago, what was it that she was abusing?

>> it was primary prescription drugs, i believe. you know, the problem of mindy is like you said in your intro, these layers of problems with men, with her mother, her outlandish and outrageous behaviors. it's basically you have to weed through to try to figure out what's motivating the whole thing and what i found at the center of her problems was this on again off again love-hate relationship she has with her mother. and then i -- looks like that's what this is about. >> i want to ask you about that because her publicist tells us that she, she's asked a court to have custody of her son. it's her mother who has custody. she wants custody returned to her over concerns of her 5-year-old's safety. what more do you know about this mother-daughter dynamic? what is the issue there? >> there's -- it's in a mess, dysfunctional relationship and

mindy kind of has problems in this area. one of the things that goes on in addiction treatment is trying to figure out almost all addicts are ameshed in these dysfunctional relationships and how to keep them safe and contained away from that world so they can grow stronger and gain more insight about how to have relationships and that was my problem with mindy was she wanted to return home to her mother's house so quickly and i wanted her to stay in los angeles and get more treatment. >> bob, when you say enmeshed, can you be more specific? does that just mean they're too close? too amesh with one another? >> yeah, they create feelings in the other and it goes back and forth and back and forth and there's always chaos and then there's a make-up period. i mean, this is a common thing in addiction. >> and now, we're hearing the phrase, parental abduction